Santa Clara U vs La Sierra University

Santa Clara University and La Sierra University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Santa Clara, a Jesuit university located in the heart of Silicon Valley, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. La Sierra, a Seventh-day Adventist university nestled in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, emphasizes a holistic approach to education, integrating faith and learning. With acceptance rates of 55% and 75%, respectively, both universities offer competitive admissions processes. While Santa Clara's popular majors include engineering, computer science, and business, La Sierra's strengths lie in nursing, biology, and theology. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these universities' student demographics, graduation rates, and other key differences, helping you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	La Sierra University	Santa Clara University
Overview
Location	Riverside, California	Santa Clara, California
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Quarter	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	72.0%	94.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant	Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	66.1%	54.0%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $73
SAT range	880 - 1140	1330 - 1490
ACT range	18 - 28	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	25.0%	23.0%
Students submitting ACT score	2.0%	16.0%
Total number of applicants	2,726	16,848
Total number of admissions given out	1,801	9,095
Admitted students who chose to enroll	287	1,549
Yield rate	15.9%	17.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$59,289	$78,999
Average net price	$25,230	$48,469
Tuition	$33,228	$55,224
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,740 Meal plan: $4,050	$16,533
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $20,812	73.0% Average amount $23,770
Students receiving federal student loan	59.0% Average amount $4,980	24.0% Average amount $5,138
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $22,020	2.0% Average amount $30,446

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,351 Men 41.2% Women 58.8%	5,895 Men 52.7% Women 47.3%
Graduate students	387 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%	3,023 Men 46.0% Women 54.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	44.6%
International students	14.1%	12.6%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	850	3,551
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	California Washington Colorado Oregon Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Law Enforcement and Firefighting Health Professions Education Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Business Engineering Legal Profession Education Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	44.9%	90.9%
Dropout rate	20.1%	9.0%
Transferred out	34.7%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,771 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $56,649 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,359 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $41,100 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,044 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,771 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,215 Year 2: $16,478 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,179 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: N/A Health/Medical Preparatory Programs (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,431 Year 2: $29,751 Year 3: N/A	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $125,643 Year 2: $128,588 Year 3: $140,820 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,523 Year 2: $103,449 Year 3: $131,051 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $125,788 Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $129,018 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $74,729 Year 2: $68,379 Year 3: $100,639 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,066 Year 2: $86,424 Year 3: $96,312 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,547 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $94,288 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $86,424 Year 3: $93,193 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,821 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $90,013 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $79,473 Year 3: $88,047 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,828 Year 2: $69,740 Year 3: $87,254

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